My blood boiled after reading this. This: “He sent in federal police. At one point, a government helicopter even hovered ominously over the gathering to harass the crowd, a shameful insult to all Americans who have ever served.” And this: “Contrast Obama’s treatment of the vets with how he handled the immigration reform rally held last Tuesday, also on the “shut-down” National Mall. Obama gave organizers special permission to hold the rally in D.C., despite the shutdown — and despite the plain fact that many of those participating live here in open violation of U.S. law.” Vets Denied their First Amendment Rights on the Mall: Illegal Immigrants Receive the Welcome Mat

Hang in there! From yesterday: “The crowing of the Beltway Left’s and the handwringing of the Beltway GOP will be difficult to stomach this morning and perhaps all week, but being in the saddle has led to the dropping of the mask, and the showing of its true character as well as its genuine indifference to the disaster that is Obamacare.” The Democrats’ Victory Dance and The Anti-Beltway Gathering Storm

But Obama told us that al-Qaeda is on the run!This: “It’s impossible to ignore what is happening in Iraq, though, as AQ has surged back to power in the western part of the country, allowing the network to support jihadist efforts in Syria while declaring war on Iraqi Shi’ites.” And this: “The failure to negotiate an ongoing American presence in western Iraq might end up being the worst strategic mistake of the past five years since the original status-of-forces agreement (SOFA) signed by George W. Bush and Nouri al-Maliki. Maliki was open to extending the American presence in some significant form, but Barack Obama didn’t lift a finger to consolidate the strategic and tactical ground we had gained from the surge.” AQ growing in strength in Syria, Iraq

Fiasco. “No organization, legislation or plan in memory makes a stronger argument for the inferiority of government to the private sector than the black comically named Affordable Care Act. The president himself seemed to realize this when he reached for a private sector comparison to explain ObamaCare’s fumblings and delays by reminding us that even Apple has glitches when it rolls out a new product.” Obamacare Best Ever Advertisement for Libertarianism

Suspicion. “It’s awful, all right, and not just in the way they mean. The level of fear this administration has engendered is—yes, I’ll use the word—unprecedented, at least in this country. And it’s getting harder to tell what part of the current sycophancy of the MSM is ideological mind-melding and what part is fear, considering the way those in the media who dare to lob anything but softballs at Obama have been treated.” Remember Alice Palmer

Transparency. “The White House specifically chose to set up its website this way, so that it could make prices on the Obamacare exchange less transparent, by displaying prices that incorporate the subsidies you might be eligible for if your income is low enough.” How Rate Shock Caused Obamacare’s Web Crash

Politics above all else. This: “As you know if you’ve been following this space, Obamacare’s bevy of mandates, regulations, taxes, and fees drives up the cost of the insurance plans that are offered under the law’s public exchanges. A Manhattan Institute analysis I helped conduct found that, on average, the cheapest plan offered in a given state, under Obamacare, will be 99 percent more expensive for men, and 62 percent more expensive for women, than the cheapest plan offered under the old system. And those disparities are even wider for healthy people.” And this: “That raises an obvious question. If 50 million people are uninsured today, mainly because insurance is too expensive, why is it better to make coverage even costlier?” Obamacare’s Website Is Crashing Because It Doesn’t Want You To Know How Costly Its Plans Are

This statement drove me nuts. The stupidity of this country’s citizens is truly unreal. “I believe everybody should be able to have health insurance, but at the same time, I’m being penalized. And for what?” said Weldzius, who is not offered insurance through his employer. “For someone who’s always had insurance, who’s always taken care of myself, now I have to change my plan?” When the government mandates the type of coverage you will have (free mammograms, blood pressure tests, free birth control, maternity coverage, and all kinds of other “freebies”) and then you throw in mandating that adult children can stay on a parent’s plan until 26, and then add on top of this that pre-existing conditions now are covered, how the heck did you not think that your insurance costs would go up???? It is insurance 101 dumb dumb. If you think the Obamacare Exchanges and Premiums were Bad…

Ain’t this grand? “According to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services spokesman Brian Cook, applications in the insurance marketplace must include the offer of voter registration because the law “requires states to offer voter registration [at] all offices that provide ‘public assistance’ (including Medicaid applications).” Obamacare Could Add More Democrats to Voting Rolls

I’ve posted on this before, but it bears repeating. “In other words, this couple makes too much money to qualify for the subsidy, but they will see their premium increase significantly, consuming a larger share of their income without clear added benefits to them.” How Obamacare Will Shrink the Labor Supply

2014 is coming. “If Democrats truly believe Obama was overwhelmingly re-elected on the platform of ObamaCare, they should be excited at the prospect of running on the same platform next year and bear the consequences of their consciences and votes. At Stake for Republicans: Principles and the Party

Obama’s hyper-partisanship within our federal government. “The message contains standard presidential lauding of public service, but goes on to attack the current government shutdown by specifically castigating the House of Representatives, saying that the House — which is unsubtle code for Republicans — should “follow the Senate’s lead…without trying to attach…partisan measures in the process.”” Illegal use of DoD Communications Systems by Obama Administration

Parents beware! “The following are some of the basic postulates about America, religion, society, morality, the arts and Israel that are taught at almost every American university.” Dennis Prager: College and your child

Common sense be damned. “No wonder we have a deadlock, when the best medicine for restoring fiscal health—stronger GDP growth through suspending Obamacare, opening up federal gas and oil leasing, cutting back on new regulations, and reforming the tax code—is apparently seen as worse than the disease of huge annual deficits.” What Are They Fighting Over?

Attempts by Obama to manufacture a crisis so far not going as planned. “Now–with Republicans “on the run” in polls–National Public Radio (NPR), which has been a cheerleader for the Democrats throughout the debate, has admitted that there are attempts to drive stock prices down in an attempt to force a deal. “It’s almost like they’re begging the markets to react today to force the Senate into some sort of action, and then see what the House does,” said Cokie Roberts on Monday morning.” NPR Admits They’re Begging Markets to React

Bumpy roads. “The Democratic moment we are currently experiencing is real but that irresistible liberal temptation is an almost sure guarantee that it will pass.” The Democratic Moment Won’t Last

We’ve got a terrific line up for our annual Christmas program. First up will be the Ignite Barbershop Quartet. Ignite began singing together after a quartet matching party in November 2015. They are all Champion members of Region 21’s Scottsdale Chorus and they will be singing for us!

After lunch, Congressional District 6 congressman, Representative David Schweikart, will talk to us about what’s happening in Washington DC, and provide us with a status of the Tax Bill working its way through the House of Representatives and Senate.

Finally, member Julia Graham will install our new 2018/2019 officers. We look forward to seeing you and be sure to bring a friend or two or three!